Civil aviation industry continues recovery in first half of the year

China's civil aviation industry demonstrated resilience and progress in the first half of the year, which witnessed 350 million passenger trips, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said.

That is an increase of 23.5 percent year-on-year and up 9 percent from 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data and experts, the international passenger market has shown ongoing recovery, while the global cargo sector has rebounded even more robustly than the domestic market.

About 30 million passenger trips were via international routes, up more than 250 percent year-on-year, with international passenger volumes rebounding to over 80 percent of the same period in 2019.

The demand for air cargo transportation remains strong, particularly on international routes. During the first half of the year, domestic and international deliveries handled a cargo and mail transport volume of 4.17 million metric tons, up 27 percent year-on-year and an 18.7 percent increase on the same period in 2019.

International routes accounted for 1.65 million tons, a 34 percent year-on-year rise, and up by 44 percent from the same period in 2019.

"Based on a comprehensive analysis of the internal and external development environment of civil aviation and the industry's recovery, it is expected that the civil aviation transportation market will maintain a steady growth trend in the second half of the year," said Xu Qing, deputy director of the administration's transportation department.

She said the international passenger transportation market is poised for further recovery.

"As the summer holiday approaches, the volume of international passenger flights has been steadily increasing, with a total of 6,045 international passenger flights operated by domestic and foreign airlines from July 1 to July 7, representing nearly 80 percent of the volume in 2019," Xu said.

These flights connect to 72 countries, with passenger services from China to 30 nations, including the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, surpassing the 2019 levels. Flights to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Hungary, Greece, Kenya and Portugal have more than doubled compared to 2019, and six countries have been added to the list of accessible destinations: Bahrain, Kuwait, Serbia, Tanzania, Luxembourg and Papua New Guinea.

As the summer travel season kicks off, Xu anticipates a surge in international tourism and study abroad trips. Popular international routes are expected to focus on traditional tourism markets such as Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asian countries.

Flights to France have increased, driven by major events like the Olympics, and there are also more to Denmark, Hungary and Greece, among other countries.

Commenting on the market trends, Li Xiaojin, a professor of aviation economics at Civil Aviation University in Tianjin, highlighted the difference between the domestic and international passenger aviation market recoveries in the first half of the year. While domestic markets have surpassed 2019 levels, the international sector has maintained steady growth.

However, flights to North America — specifically Canada and the United States — have struggled, with a recovery rate of less than 20 percent.

In terms of cargo transportation, Li emphasized that the international sector has outperformed domestic operations, attributing that success to the expansion of cross-border e-commerce.

Companies like Shein, a popular online fast-fashion retailer, and Temu, an online shopping platform, have excelled in their international expansion efforts, he said.